Sounds like a migraine & without a professional diagnosis by a neurologist or headache specialist, you won't be able to get the relief you can get from prescription medication. They need to rule out other sources of this pain, but the eye involvement, as well as the rest of your description, leads me to suspect they are migraines. The trouble with not seeking help immediately is that if they are migraines, you are loosing the best window of opportunity for effective treatment. The last thing you want is to get into a situation where you complicate the problem by starting a chronic pain response in your body. Trust me, that's what happened to me & makes all treatment sooo much more difficult.

But, the real urgency in being checked out are the other possible causes of your pain, which need to be addressed sooner, rather than later, as I'm sure you can imagine. Unfortunately, this will likely require a few tests & trying different medications before you get full relief & I know you don't want to spend money you don't have. But, this is something that may cause you to be unemployable if not treated & they progressively get worse, so think about that, too. The good thing is that today they have so many different, effective medicines that really give people back their life. There are also things you can do to help that do not have to do with prescription medication.

The most important is establishing a regular sleeping schedule & maintaining it even on weekends. I won't bore you with the science, just the stuff you can do to help. Also, try and notice what triggers a migraine for you. Does smelling smoke or perfume do it? Do certain foods do it? Many migraineurs get migraines from aged cheeses, wine, strawberries, chocolate, etc. You can find lists online of foods to test yourself & see if it helps. Another big trigger for migraines is a caffeine dependency. While caffeine can often help during an acute attack, the roller coaster effect of ingesting it & then needing more later, is often a trigger. Most headache clinics make you stop consuming caffeine at all & maybe only during an attack. Some over the counter "migraine" pills have caffeine in them.

You can try either a heated or cold compress on your forehead area while lying down in a dark, quiet room. Sensitivity to light & noise, especially paired with nausea are common symptoms of a migraine. A sharp or throbbing pain, often involving the eye area or starting on one side of the head & progressing over to the other, are common symptoms as well. You can find tons of info online, but honestly, I think you do have migraines. There are lots of things that may help, but from my experience, nothing is going to help as well as medical care for someone having them as frequently as you do. If you only had them twice a year, you could get by, but you are having them very frequently.

I have tried physical therapy, self hypnosis & biofeedback training, counselling, acupuncture, meditation & yoga, Botox, tons of medicines, supplements and diet & lifestyle changes, to name just the stuff off the top of my head. Hopefully, you will find a quick solution to nip these in this bud! Oh, I forgot to mention that migraines tend to run in families, so if a close family member suffers them, you likely are as well.

Feel free to contact me privately via PM, if you'd like!

You're absolutely right about the dehydration & that could account for the nausea & perhaps the need to lie down.

Bruxism usually causes a dull, constant headache, not the sharp pain, the intermittent nature & localization above the eye(s), that she describes. I used to grind my teeth so much the molars were ground down flat! Women are more likely to grind their teeth, but it's by such a small margin over men, it's hardly worth mentioning. The most common cause of grinding your teeth is an irregular bite & most grinding occurs while you sleep, although stress & anxiety can certainly play a part.

js250, I'm so sorry to hear about your friend! That's exactly one of the reasons I warned her there may be other causes that need to be found sooner rather than later. I assumed she would know why she should get checked to rule out several things, but I now think that was foolish of me. Yes, a cerebral aneurysm could cause these symptoms, especially if these attacks are a sudden occurrence in your life & the headache is described as the worst headache of your life.